Despite its humble beginnings, the alt-right movement has been gaining national attention with its provocative message.

What we reported: On March 21,Corrina Mehiel, a former Art Academy of Cincinnati professor and DAAP graduate, was found stabbed to death in a Washington D.C., apartment. She was working on an art exhibition there.

Washington D.C., police led a multi-state manhunt for her killer and arrested 28-year-old El Hadji Alpha Madiou Toure in connection with her death a week after the slaying.

Corrina Mehiel

Corrina Mehiel

Provided/Art Academy of Cincinnati

Since then the case has slowly moved through the court system, and the story has been played up by some alt-right websites.

Her dad, waiting for her in North Carolina, couldn't reach her, so he called the police.

He didn't know that within minutes, officers would find Mehiel tied up and unconscious, suffering from multiple stab wounds inside a 14th Street apartment about three and a half miles from the White House. She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to court records.

Her body showed signs of torture, according to Dr. Constance DiAngelo with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

These details of Mehiel's death and more were revealed in court documents filed after the arrest of El Hadji Alpha Madiou Toure, the man police say killed her. Toure's case is working its way through the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. Police say there's no evidence Mehiel and Toure knew each other.

Investigators said they quickly learned Mehiel's car, a Toyota Prius, was missing.

Surveillance footage showed a man matching the description of the suspect driving away in the Prius just before 1 p.m. on Monday, about 27 hours before Mehiel was found by police, court records state.

Detectives said Mehiel's debit card was used about two hours later to withdraw $400 from an ATM in Maryland. Before the end of that night, the card would be used to take another $1,000. Then over the next four days, an additional $2,600 would be withdrawn in two different Maryland cities and in Arlington, Virginia, for a total of $4,000.

Surveillance photo of a person of interest in the killing of Corrina Mehiel.

Surveillance photo of a person of interest in the killing of Corrina Mehiel.

Provided/Metropolitan Police Department

Police said they tracked Toure through the use the debit card and through a SmarTrip public transportation card.

An associate of Toure reported that after Mehiel's death, he had purchased a used Ford Taurus, and passed along the license plate number to authorities.

On March 27, Toure was pulled over in the Taurus in a residential neighborhood in Washington D.C., about two and a half miles from where Meheil died, police said. He was arrested on an outstanding robbery warrant out of Bradley County, Tennessee.

Toure has been in police and government custody ever since.

The "alt-right" picks up the story

After her death and the arrest, Mehiel's name and parts of her story began appearing on the websites Altright.com, Narrative Collapse and Occidental Dissent. They used the story to push an anti-immigrant, anti-black narrative.

Altright.com speculated on Toure's immigration status.

"There is a strong possibility that he is either a homeless African refugee, immigrant or illegal alien who has been sheltered by the District of Columbia," the website wrote.

Bill Miller with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said Toure is a U.S. citizen, but would not say if he immigrated to the United States.

The Occidental Dissent pulled political posts from Mehiel's social media accounts and posted a story with the headline: "The False Narrative: Social Justice Activist Corrina Mehiel Found Bound and Stabbed To Death In Washington, DC."

The status of the case

The U.S. Attorney's Office has less than two weeks left to secure any indictments against Toure unless an extension is granted. He has been charged with first-degree murder. The government typically has 270 days to finalize indictments.

There have been delays in the case as well.

On Aug. 4, about four months after his arrest, Toure was ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial and was sent to an inpatient facility for treatment.

After about a month of treatment, the court determined that Toure was now competent and the case proceeded.

On Nov. 1, prosecutors told the court they plan to file any indictments in December.

Toure was not granted bond and will likely remain in custody during the entirety of his trial.